West Bladen 50
Midway 44
Stefan McDonald had 19 points
Knights will finish the regular season on Monday at East Bladen.

Northside 61
North Brunswick 45
Scorpions will face East Duplin on Wednesday in first round of East Central Tournament at 8:30 at East Duplin.

New Hanover 55
Topsail 27
Ridell Camidge 14 points, Blake Smith 12 points
Wildcats will be #1 seed in Mideastern Conference Tournament. They get a first round bye. Won't play until Wednesday at 6:00 against the winner of Ashley & Laney. Topsail will play Hoggard at 6:15 on Monday in first round of MEC Tourney at Brunswick Community College (BCC).

West Brunswick 64
Ashley 44
Trojans earn #2 for Mideastern Conference Tournament with 8-4 record. Hoggard also finished 8-4, but the Trojans get the #2 seed based on a sweep of Ashley. Tournament will start on Monday. Ashley plays at 8:00 against Laney at BCC.

Hoggard 72
South Brunswick 47
Vikings will play Topsail on Monday at BCC at 6:15. Cougars will face West Brunswick at 4:30 on Monday at BCC.

Northside 53
North Brunswick 35
Scorpions will face SW Onslow on Wednesday at 7pm in East Central Tournament at East Duplin

New Hanover 60
Topsail 19
These two teams will face each other on Tuesday at Brunswick CC at 6:15 in first round of MEC Tournament.

Ashley 76
West Brunswick 20
Ashley will be #1 seed in Mideastern Conference Tournament. Eagles get a first round bye. Won't play until Thursday at 6:00 against the winner of Hoggard-West Brunswick. Tournament starts on Tuesday. Trojans will face Hoggard at 8:00 on Tuesday at BCC in MEC Tourney.

Hoggard 52
South Brunswick 29
Vikings will face West Brunswick in the first round of the Mideastern Conference Tournament on Tuesday at 8:00. Cougars will face Laney Tuesday at 4:30 at BCC in MEC Tourney.

HARRISONBURG, VA (UNCW)- – UNCW had two good looks in the final five seconds, but neither fell and the Seahawks’ two-game winning streak is history after James Madison held on for a 64-62 decision in a televised Colonial Athletic Association matinee Saturday at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes swept the regular season series and improved to 10-17 overall and 5-8 in the conference. The Seahawks are now 8-20 and 2-11.

Graduate forward Andrey Semenov has enjoyed some big games against the Seahawks and he continued that trend, pouring in a game-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 behind the arc. He anchored four players in double digits for Matt Brady’s club.

Sophomore guard Ron Curry added 13 points – including a critical bucket in final minute - and sophomore guards Andre Nation and Charles Cooke contributed 10 apiece for the Dukes, who also beat the Seahawks, 60-55, back on Jan. 4 at Trask Coliseum.

Senior guard Tanner Milson led the Seahawks for the second time this season with 11 points. In a balanced scoring attack, six other players had at least five points for the Seahawks, who could not overcome 38.6 percent shooting 16 turnovers.

Chris Dixon’s clutch triple from the top of the key with 56 seconds left tied the game at 62-all, but Curry sliced inside and got the roll on a difficult shot in traffic as JMU grabbed the lead back, 64-62, with 32 seconds remaining.

The Seahawks then called time out, worked the ball around and called time out again with six seconds on the clock for a last-second attempt. Milson launched an off-balanced trey on the right wing and Shane Reybold’s putback bounced off the backboard to allow JMU to escape with the win.

“We didn’t get a great look at it, but I like what our kids did today,” said fourth-year UNCW Head Coach Buzz Peterson. “We fought and scrapped back after being down double digits. We hung in there and did a good job.

“Curry hit a tough shot to give them the two-point lead. I thought our defense was good there. We were very unfortunate not to get the win, but I like the way our team is playing right now and the momentum we have going into the tournament.”

“Both groups did a good job and are playing with a lot of confidence. We were so close. We could have gotten a victory with one or two stops.”

JMU built a 34-26 lead at halftime and increased the margin to as many as 13 points in the second half before surviving several comebacks by the Seahawks.

The Dukes scored seven of the first nine points of the second half and the lead swelled to 41-28, on a dunk by Cooke at 18:25.

UNCW chipped away and finally took the lead for the first time since midway in the first half when reserve swing man Luke Hager knifed inside for a bank shot to give the Seahawks a 57-56 edge at 4:13.

JMU responded, however, with a putback by Cooke and a pair of free throws by Curry to get the advantage back to 60-57 before the thrilling finish.

The 6-7, 200-pound Semenov canned 4-of-5 field goals, including 3-of-4 from deep, to give the Dukes a spark in the first half as JMU built a 34-26 lead at the break.

After Hager connected on a triple along the left wing to give UNCW a 13-9 edge at 13:19, the Dukes, behind Semenov, took control. Semenov drained his third straight trifecta and Cooke added a free throw to give the Dukes a 20-15 advantage with just under nine minutes remaining.

JMU then kept that separation the rest of the half by forcing 12 turnovers and grabbed their largest lead of the opening period on Yolanny Dalembert’s massive jam along the right baseline with just over a minute remaining.

UNCW travels over to Williamsburg, Va., for the regular season road finale on Monday, playing William & Mary’s Tribe in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Kaplan Arena. JMU remains at home to entertain Drexel on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: UNCW’s largest lead of the game was four points…The Seahawks won the rebounding battle, 33-32…JMU finished with 11 steals…The Seahawks went 7-of-23 from long distance…Chris Dixon’s four assists paced the Seahawks…Both teams scored 24 points in the paint…Ben Eblen fouled out for the first time…Junior forward Cedrick Williams failed to score in double figures for the fourth consecutive game…UNCW had 16 offensive rebounds…JMU tied the all-time series at 33-all…The Dukes have won four straight over the Seahawks…JMU has won five consecutive games over UNCW in Harrisonburg….UNCW outscored JMU, 36-30, in the second half.

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CHAPEL HILL, NC (AP) --- James Michael McAdoo had 24 points and 12 rebounds to help North Carolina beat No. 25 Pittsburgh 75-71 on Saturday for its sixth straight victory.

Marcus Paige added 18 points for the Tar Heels (17-7, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who extended the season's longest winning streak three days after their rivalry game against Duke was postponed due to a winter storm. They shot 48 percent after halftime and led by 12 with about 9 minutes left, but had to fight off a late push from the Panthers (20-6, 8-5).

Pitt fought back to within three with the ball in the final 10 seconds. But Lamar Patterson missed a 3-pointer for the tie, and then Talib Zanna missed a putback attempt before Patterson fouled on the rebound with 2.8 seconds left. UNC's Brice Johnson hit his second free throw to make it a two-possession game and clinch the win.

McAdoo finished 11 for 18 from the field, while Paige went 5 for 6 from 3-point range. Johnson added 13 points off the bench with seven rebounds and five blocked shots, including one on a driving layup by James Robinson with the Tar Heels up 74-68 in the final minute.

Patterson scored 16 points to lead the Panthers, who were even with the Tar Heels in several statistical categories -- from rebounds to second-chance points and points off turnovers -- but trailed throughout the second half and never could quite level the game.

The Tar Heels dug their way out of an 0-3 ACC start with their five-game winning streak that restored some optimism in Chapel Hill. But the five wins had come against teams that were a combined 26-32 in the league entering Saturday's games, and none had come against a team better than sixth in the league.

They're starting a four-games-in-eight days stretch, with the next stop coming Monday at Florida State followed by Thursday's rescheduled game against the Blue Devils.
For the Panthers, it was the latest frustrating moment in a stretch of gut-wrenching games.

It started with a home loss on a last-second 3-pointer to Virginia, followed by an overtime win at Miami and a double-overtime home win against Virginia Tech. Then came Wednesday's loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Syracuse at home on Tyler Ennis' desperation 3-pointer at the horn.

Now, along with the UNC loss, all five of those games have been decided by five or fewer points.

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WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) -– Corey Dick had two hits and drove in three runs for UNCW, but Kentucky rode a seven-run fifth inning to a 10-4 win on Saturday at Brooks Field in the Hughes Bros. Challenge.

The Wildcats improved to 2-0 with the non-conference road win while the Seahawks evened their mark at 1-1.

UK starter Chandler Shepherd (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while fanning four over 5.2 innings. Freshman reliever Logan Salow struck out five in 2.1 innings in his collegiate debut.

UNCW junior starter Jordan Ramsey (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing 10 runs, only three were earned over 4.2 innings.

Ka’ai Tom paced UK with three hits while A.J. Reed supplied the power with a three-run homer in the third and a RBI double in the fifth.

Dick singled in the first UNCW run in a two-run sixth inning and added a bases-loaded single that scored two in the seventh.

How it happened: Kentucky sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the fifth to break open a 3-0 contest. The Seahawks committed two errors that led all seven runs to be unearned.

Inside the box score: UK managed to land its leadoff hitter on base just twice in nine innings, but countered that going 6-for-13 with two outs and 5-for-11 in RBI opportunities … UNCW was 1-for-9 in leadoff situations (Renvil, 4th inning single) … Lefthanded hitters were 8-for-14 against Ramsey … Shepherd, meanwhile, shut down UNCW lefties (1-for-8).

Notes: UNCW dropped to 0-2 against Kentucky all-time … The Seahawk bullpen combined for 4.1 innings of two-hit shutout relief … In two games, the bullpen has allowed just five hits and no runs in 8.1 innings … Opponents are hitting just .192 against the bullpen … Dick has five RBI’s for UNCW through two games … Today’s total attendance was 1,513 … Drew Farber cut down two potential Wildcat base stealers.

Up next: The Seahawks play top-ranked Virginia, a 12-0 winner on Saturday against VMI, on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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WILMINGTON, NC (CFCC RELEASE) -- The Cape Fear Community College women’s basketball team continued a three game road swing Saturday afternoon with a decisive 83-69 win over Spartanburg Methodist in South Carolina.

“We really got after it under the glass, on defense and moved the ball well today,” said CFCC Coach Lori Drake. “Anytime you have 17 team assists and 41 rebounds, you know that everyone is getting involved. Hopefully, we can bring some of the same intensity into tomorrow’s game.”
Alexis Redd shot 5-of-11 from three-point land as part of her game-high 21 points, while Porsha Buchanan put in an all-around effort on both ends of the floor with 17 points, three steals and two assists to pace the Lady Sea Devils.

Cape Fear improved to 6-7 in conference and 14-7 overall as the team gets ready to wrap up the weekend with a date at Clinton Junior College on Sunday.

On the men’s side, Spartanburg evened up the twin bill with a 72-67 victory over the Sea Devils. Osandai Vaughn had 21 points for CFCC, who fell to 3-3 in conference and 13-12 overall.

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SYRACUSE, NY (NCSU) -- After a whirlwind day of travel, NC State led the nation's top-ranked team on the road with just seconds on the clock. However, the unbeaten Syracuse Orange escaped with a 56-55 win in front of 31,572 people at the Carrier Dome.

With NC State leading 55-53 with 41.4 seconds left, Syracuse's C.J. Fair split a pair of foul shots to cut the Pack's lead to 55-54. After a timeout, NC State turned the ball over against a Syracuse trap at half court. Syracuse's Tyler Ennis was called for a charge, and State had the ball back. Washington threw a long pass to Warren, who scored as he was fouled. The foul was called on the ground, and Syracuse later ended up with a steal and the game-winning lay-up with 6.3 seconds on the clock. A final jumper by T.J. Warren, who scored a game-high 23 points, fell off the front of the rim.

Going head-to-head with preseason All-ACC Player of the Year C.J. Fair, Warren on 11-for-22 shooting. He added three assists and three steals while Fair finished with 11 points on 5-for-16 shooting. Kyle Washington scored a career-high 14 points with 10 rebounds and Ralston Turner added 13 points.

NC State (16-9, 6-6) had its largest lead of the night when a Turner 3-pointer with 6:27 remaining gave the Pack a 50-45 lead. Syracuse answered with an 8-2 run to lead 53-52 with 3:16 left.

NC State led for much of the early parts of the second half until a lay-up by Jerami Grant gave the Orange a 40-39 lead. The eighth lead change of the game happened when Turner hit a 3-pointer at the 7:50 mark.

Warren and Washington led the Wolfpack in an extremely close first half. Warren had a pair of tip-in buckets and Washington used an array of jumpers and left hooks to quiet the large home crowd. A jumper by Washington tied the game 20-20. A pair of free throws by Ennis gave the lead back to SU but Washington buried a pull-up jumper at the top of the key to tie the game at 22-22.

After 20 minutes, the game was tied 26-26 with Warren and Washington each scoring 10 points. Defensively, NC State held Syracuse to .324 shooting, which was the second-lowest percentage for a first half by Syracuse this season.

NC State continues its February road swing Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Clemson. That contest is on ESPNU at 7 p.m.

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DURHAM, NC (AP)-– The shot that would have beaten No. 8 Duke hung on the rim, bouncing once, then twice.

"It felt like an eternity," freshman Jabari Parker said.

Once it fell harmlessly off the rim, the Blue Devils finally exhaled.

Parker scored 23 points and blocked one of Maryland's two shots in the final 10 seconds of the Blue Devils' 69-67 victory Saturday night.

"That was vintage Cameron, man," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That was one for the ages."

Rodney Hood and Rasheed Sulaimon added 11 points each for the Blue Devils (20-5, 9-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their eighth in nine games and started a run of four games in eight nights by giving the Terrapins a hard-to-swallow loss in their last scheduled visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The ACC's top 3-point shooting team was just 5 of 24 from long range and shot 23 percent in the second half. Duke led by double figures for all of about 15 seconds before scratching its way to the 20-win mark for the 18th straight year.

"Sometimes the basketball gods fool around with you when you're not shooting, and they say, `You've got to figure out another way to win this thing," Krzyzewski said. "Our effort those last 20 seconds was spectacular."

Jake Layman scored 18 points for Maryland (14-12, 6-7) and Dez Wells -- who just about single-handedly beat the Blue Devils by scoring 30 in last year's ACC quarterfinals -- had all 17 of his points in the second half.

Charles Mitchell finished with 12 for the Terrapins, but missed two hook shots in the final 10 seconds that would have given them the lead.

Parker gave Duke the lead for good when his authoritative, one-handed dunk over Jonathan Graham made it 68-67 with about 1:15 remaining.

Wells missed a jumper over Hood with about 50 seconds left. Duke milked the shot clock before Amile Jefferson missed a jumper that failed to draw iron, giving the Terrapins the ball.

The teams traded timeouts with 18.8 seconds left before Maryland worked the ball inside to Mitchell. He had one hook shot blocked by Parker with about 7 seconds left, and another bounced twice on the rim but would not fall through.

"The guys kind of willed their way to the basket," Turgeon said. "It just didn't drop."

Said Jefferson: "You just hold your breath."

The rebound made its way to Jefferson, who was fouled with 1.1 seconds left and hit a free throw to end the scoring.

Wells couldn't get off an 80-foot heave before the buzzer, sealing Duke's 30th straight victory at Cameron. That tied Stephen F. Austin for the longest active home streak in the country.

Duke missed 17 of its first 19 shots in the second half before Jefferson banked one in to tie it at 54 with 6 1/2 minutes left.

About 2 minutes earlier, Wells capped a 12-1 run with a layup that gave the Terrapins their first lead at 54-52, and it was a one-possession game the rest of the way.

The Big Ten-bound Terps got quite an early earful from the Cameron Crazies, who taunted Turgeon with their classic "Sweat, Gary, Sweat" chant that had been mothballed since Gary Williams retired three years ago.

But once Maryland started chipping into -- and eventually completely erasing -- the Duke lead, those jeers stopped.

"I'm going to miss (the Duke rivalry) like crazy," Turgeon said. "We played tonight for Maryland. ... We played for all our former coaches, former players ... because we knew we weren't getting them at our place. This was our one chance."

Jefferson finished with 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who have a busy week coming up because their rivalry game with North Carolina was postponed due to a nasty winter storm.

That game was rescheduled for Feb. 20 -- two nights after they visit Georgia Tech, and two nights before they host No. 1 Syracuse.

"This is a fun time for us and this should really be a good time to see where our team is at, to evaluate it and to get better," Jefferson said.

That the Blue Devils missed 11 of their first 13 attempts from 3-point range could have been attributed to rust for a team that entered hitting 3s at a league-best 42 percent clip.

But they also were outrebounded 43-36 by the Terps and certainly looked ripe for an upset.

They were unable to take advantage of Maryland's drought early in the half, instead matching the Terps missed shot for missed shot. Maryland went 5 minutes between buckets early in the second half.

Duke finished at 33 percent from the field while Maryland shot 41.9 percent.

"We beat a real gutty team today," Krzyzewski said, "and we were a gutty team."

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